Traction-engine.



No. 655,686. Patented Aug. l4, I900.

n. c. CAWLEY.

TRACTION ENGINE.

(Application filed Dec. 15, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet m I llTNESSES o INVENTOH 7f 0 .0. @6026;

E) ATTORNEYS N0.,655,686. Patented Aug. [4, I900. D. C. CAWLEY.

TRACTION ENGINE.

(Application filed Dec. 15, 1899.)

(N0 Modei.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

IIII III III a 4 2 2 a a/ 2 W/TNESSES /N VENTOH z a. ma

A TTOHNE Y8 I To all whom it mag concern.-

' LEY, of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny less track-chain,passing around the truck- 6 etwl1eels. G (3 represent the truckframe, inI which are arranged the hangers D D andD' D,

' naled in the box 6 which slides up and down ing movement as well,which has a very important coaction' with the track-chain A, as

vides means-for accommodating the various UNITED STATES:

DANIEL QHhRLEsa-CAWLEY, or

PATENT OFFICE...

ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRACTIONPENIGINE- srncrrrcnnon forming part of Letters Patent No.655,686, dated August 14, 1900. Application filed December 15, 1899.Serial No. 740,480- (No model.)

Be it known that I, DANIEL CHARLES (MW,

and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement inTraction- Engi'ne Truckee-of which the followingis a specification.

The objectof my invention is to provide a constructionof truck fortraction-engines, and more particularly that form of tractionenginesknown as automobiles andspecially designed for-heavy hauling.

The primary object is to secure a greater bearing and tractiveefiiect'on the ground, it being well known that sandy, muddy, and roughroads present great obstacles to thesuccessful us'eof motor-wagons- Myinvention-employs the principle of the endless track chain revolvingaround the truckwheels and bearing directly on-the roadlo'ed for greaterfrictional contact, and it proessary with said track-chain. p l

It alsoconsists in the constru'ction and arrangement of the wheels,thechains, and the bearings, as hereinafter more fully described.

adjustments which a rough road renders necthrough line 2 2 of Fig. 3.Fig. 3 is a plan View, partly in section. Fig.4 is an enlargedlongitudinal section of one of the'links of the chain, and Fig. 5 isaplan view of a number of the links connected up into a chain.

Referring to Fig. 1 A represents the endwheels B B, which areconstructed as sprockin whichslide the boxes that carry the axles oi"the wheels.- The axle Z2 of the WheelsB is jourwithin the hangers 'D Dand has above it rods b 'b to permitot. elastic up-and-downmovement-ofthe trucks on the wheels after the ordinary construction of car-wheelboxes. The bearings for the front axle b are, however,altogetherdiEerent, as they have not only an up-and-down yieldingmovement, .buta horizontal forward-and-backward yieldwillbe hereinafterdescribed. The axle-j'onrl slots d d' in the yoke. v guidethe boxes'd"in their horizontal recip nals b of the wheels B arecontained inbearings d, which slide horizontally in elongated yokes d, and eachhearing or box (1 has on each side of it a helical spring 0, seated atits ends upon projections l and 2, formed, re-

spectively, on the sides of the box d and the sliding box within ityielding in vertical directio'n between the hangers D D. The box d hason'the'top and bottom sides vertical;

pivot-lugs d d Fig. 2, which pass through rocating movement and alsoform a vertical axis, which permits the angular relation of thewheel-axle b 'to'be changed'from the right- These pivoted lugsangularposition seen in'l ig.,-3 to a-more or less oblique one, as shown indotted'lines. v

V I will now explain the peculiar coaction and value between the endlesstrack-chains A and thehorizontally-yielding boxes d of the front Ifthefront axle and the rear axle were 7 axle. always parallel and aninvariable distance apart, it will be seen thatif-thechainAshould-rungupon astone or otherprojection above Figure 1 isa side view, partlyin section, of one of my trucks; Fig. 2 is'asectional detail 3? theroad-bed it would produce a severely-damaging strain upon the chain andprobably break it; but with the box d and axle bad- 3' ustable" againsta spring tension any stone or "prbjection which presses upwardly on thechain does not produce a damaging strain thereon, but merely pullsthebox (1 to the rear sufiiciently to accommodate the upward bend of thechain, andthus relieves it of strain. This, however, is not the onlyfunc- 1 tionjof the horizontally-yieldingboxes; but they are a necessaryfeature in turning, for

they permit the axle to be thrown from a rightangular position to anoblique one, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, thus permitting:the plane of the front wheels to be slightlychanged, as is necessary inturning. It will be'understood that the longitudinal lay of thetrack-chain on the g'roundwouldnaturally have a tendency to cause thetruck to always move forward in a straight line but for this provision?-In this connectionthe necessity of the piv-ot-lugsol at of the boxes (ifwill be understood-as they permit. this angular adustment of the axle,as shown in Fig. 3.

4 In the construction of thechain A, I aim atthree results. The firstobject is to pre- IOO 3 the inner ring W of-metal to which the hub and sokes are attached, and anintermediate 3o vent the joints of the chainfrom getting in the dirt, which would cause them to rapidlywear out. Forthis purpose their ends are turned up quite adist-ance from their middlebearing-surfaces, so as to elevate the articulated joints,as seen inFigs.1 and 4. I also bend thee-nds of each pair of links inwardly towardeach other, so that when coupled together with the next adjacent linksthe link ends lap past each other a considerable distance, whichprevents any V-shaped angle between the links at a Fig. 1', which inopening and closing would be liable to catch and retain anyloose stonesor other objects in the roadbed and which would cause binding and lossof power and'possibly the breakingof the links. The locking-lugs of thechain, which form the grappling-points for the sprocket= teeth of thewheels, are made'of blocks of rubber a, secured by two bolts "a a Thisnot only renders the bearings elastic and free from rattling noise, butallows a slight yielding of the chain, which provides for turning andrelieves the chain from'damaging strains.

In constructing the wheels I make them in three principal parts-theouter ring W of metal on which the sprocket-teeth are formed,

ring of soft rubber to produce a cushioned. effect and to deaden thesound and reduce the rattle of the chain. These three sections of thewheel are bored'with coinciding holes in radial direction, and aguide-pin g is fixed in the outer ringbyan enlarged screw-thread-' edend g. These pins are arranged at suitable intervals and while lookingthe three rings together againsttorsional movement allow' the, rubberbushing-ring to yield. To

supplement the effect of these pins g, tongues h are bolted radially tothe outer ring W and slide freely through keepers h on the sides of theinner ring W With regardto the construction of thechain Iwould statethat its form is such as to keep: it in position on the wheelsregardless of the relative position of'the wheels.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a traction-engine, a truckconsisting of pairs of sprocket-wheels connected by endless track chainsor belts, one set of wheels having their journalsspring-seated in bothvertical. and horizontal direction substantially asdescribed.

2.. h In a traction-engine, atruck consisting of pairs ofsprocket-wheels connected by endless'track chains or belts, one set 9fwheels. having theirjournals arranged in boxes having springs both infront and rear ofsaid box,

and guiding -.frames for accommodating a slight forward and backwardmovement of" said journals substantially as described. .s

' 3. In a traction-engine, a truck consisting of pairs ofsprocket-wheels connected by enjdless track chains or belts,journal-boxes'foni said wheels made yielding in horizontal direction,said journal-boxes having -vertical pivotal lugs, and a slottedguiding-frame for the same to accommodate the oblique angular-positionof the wheel-axes substantially as described. 4. In a traction-engine,the combinationo sprooketwheels with endless track'- chains couplingthem in pairs, the wheel-axle b with horizontally-adjustable box 61, thesprings c 0 arranged on opposite sides of the same, a yoke d inelosingsaid box and springs, the hangers "D D receiving the yoke, and thespiral springs and guide-rods e f arranged above the yoke substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

5. In a traction-engine, a track-chain com posed of links havingbearing-faces in the middle, and inwardly and upwardly turned endslapped past each other and jointed together at the ends to keep thejoints away .fromcontact with the ground and to prevent openings betweenthe bearing-faces of the links asdescribed.

Ina 'traction-engine,.a track-chain composed of links'each formed of'two side bars with blocks a, of yielding material bolted between themand forming the grappling snrfaces forthe sprocket-teeth and also thegrennd-bearings for the chain as described.

7 A chain formed with elastic bearingblocks substantially as described.

8. ,A- chain having elastic bearing-blocks combined with sprocket-wheelshaving teeth fitting againstsaid elastic bearings substantially asdescribed.

9. A- sprocket-wheel for a traction-engine, consisting of a continuousouter metal ring having sprocket-teeth formed thereon, an inner ring'ofmetal, an interposed ring of elastic material, and radial pins fixedrigidly in the middle of one of the metal rings and protruding looselythrough the body portion of the elastic ring and the other metal ringand locking the sametogether against torsional movement substantially asdescribed.

IIO

'10. A sprocket-wheel for a traction-engine consisting of a continuousouter metallic ring having sprocket-teeth formed thereon, an innermetallic ring, and an interposed bushing- 1 ring of elastic material,radial pins fixed rigidly in one of the metallic rings and protrudingloosely through the body portion of the elastic ring and the other metalring, and external guiding-tongues arranged radially onthe sides of oneof the metal rings, and keepers receiving said tongues and located onthe sides of the other metal ring substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of

